Declarations in the art room
by NerdHotWriter
Summary: After GMT. It might be a bad idea but Maya is stepping back again. This time she wants to make sure it stays that way but a certain Texan isn't about to let go so easily. When they meet in the art room they figure out what it is they feel and how Maya has been coping. Probably ooc. A little fluffy, a little angsty.


A/N: Yes ya'll I'm back. And I'm back with a fanfiction from a disney show based around middle schools kids. Yes This what I've been doing in my long ass hiatus. I know you guys are expecting updates from my other stories. All I can tell you guys is that I am a horrible person ok. If you want a new update please let me know which story. I will only update stories that have the most recommendations. Anyhoo Girl Meets worls on Disney channel is the shit so I highly suggest you guys try it out :) but for any of my followers who are also GMW and Lucaya fans this is for you!

All mistakes are mine and you're probably going to find some.

Thanks for reading!

She betrayed her best friend. That's all she could think about. Maya hurt her best friend, something she didn't even know she was capable of.

But here she was. No longer peaches, but a new nickname, one she crowned herself with.

Maya, The Betrayer.

It fit. It made her heart clench. It made her stomach turn to knots. It made her sad.

How could she do this? How could she fall for the boy her best friend wanted? How could she almost be kissed by him?

Maya, The Monster.

The one thing that made Maya the most upset was guilt.

Guilt, that she wanted Lucas to kiss her, that she felt something between them at the campfire, that maybe Lucas wanted to kiss her too.

Maya, was a horrible person but she had no control over the things she felt. She did though have control in her actions. As long as she pushed him away, he wouldn't feel anything for her and Riley would be happy.

So Maya stepped back again. After their 'date' Maya made it clear nothing else would happen. She avoided Lucas's questions about hanging out, she gave anyone the death glare if they made a comment or looked at her and Lucas funny, she made sure Riley and Lucas hung out.

"Hey Maya, want to go to the library to study?" the group would ask.

"No, I got detention."

"Sorry, I'm helping my mom today."

"I have an art piece I want to finish."

Maya thought of every excuse she could. She thought maybe if Lucas and Riley got comfortable around each other again it would all go back to normal. They'd talk again, they'd be weird again, the world would focus on them instead of Maya betraying her friend. She was okay with that, okay with letting her friends be happy.

Even though she would lose one of the things she hoped for.

 _Hope is for suckers._

She told herself that everyday, made herself believe it. This was her motto in life because Maya didn't want to get hurt. She wanted control in her life. Maya wanted to be able to go through life knowing she wouldn't be hurt, that she knew what to expect.

But she didn't expect a cowboy from Texas to make her feel things at fourteen years old. Maya honestly believed she wouldn't have feelings like this till she was much older.

But Lucas made her feel things. Made her want to believe in hope, made her want to try and be better, made her stomach flutter with little butterflies. He took control of her nerves. Maya didn't understand how that could happen, didn't understand how she felt that.

It sucked being away from her friends though, the only people she wanted to be around but she was doing this for Riley, because Riley's happiness was important to her.

Maya jumped when she heard the door to the art room open.

She had been in there working on piece that she has started when she decided the best course of action was to step away again. Since that day she's spent every moment after school working on it. Ms. Kossal was the teacher supervisor for the poetry club too so as long as she was here after school, Maya could use the art room.

Never had she expected though that she would have a visitor or that it would be a certain green eyed fellow.

There he was, leaning against the door way, bookbag strapped around him, and he was looking right at her.

She was nervous, scared, and happy all at once. Maya remembered these feelings because they were what she felt at the campfire. Never had she felt so much at once, never could she say anyone made her feel these things.

"Thought I wouldn't find you?" he said after what felt like a thousand years.

Maya blinked. She had to regain control of the situation.

"No, I knew someone would," she said with her usual snark. Maya picked up her paints and went back to work. She didn't want him to know the effect he was beginning to have on her or what he made her feel right now.

"Then why hide in the obvious spot?" Lucas asked walking towards her.

"Because it's the obvious," she started. "Let me guess, this is the last place you looked?"

Lucas was quiet.

Maya wrinkled her nose. "That's what I thought."

Silence.

Maya worked on mixing the paints to make the perfect color for a night sky. She wanted to see the colors that she saw what felt like forever ago.

"No."

Maya looked up and saw Lucas was already looking at her.

Something tightened in her chest.

Lucas pulled his bookbag over his head and pulled one of the stools next to Maya's easel. He sat down and looked straight at Maya.

"This wasn't the last place I looked, but you're right, it wasn't the first either," he said.

Maya set her paints down, giving him her full attention.

"We split up at first. We thought maybe whoever found you first you'd talk to them so you didn't feel pressure from the rest of us. I guess the art room was the obvious spot so no one bothered to look. I did though, about two days ago," Lucas started.

"I knew this was the place you'd go to, we all did, but knowing how stubborn you are you wouldn't want to be found so easily so this wasn't the first place to look. Turns out though this was the place you've been the whole time, and I knew it. I knew you'd be here but I thought you'd make it harder so I tried to think like Maya. It turns out though Maya was always a step ahead," he said with a smile.

Maya felt her cheeks warm. He was making her feel little knots in her stomach.

"When I went with my gut instinct and finally checked the art room, I saw you and I saw your art. It was two days ago when I finally looked in here and saw what you've been painting-"

Maya cut him off.

"You have no idea what I'm painting."

Lucas stared at her and she stared back.

He doesn't know what she's painting. He doesn't know what it means to her, because if he did she wouldn't be hiding from her friends. Maya wouldn't be hiding from Lucas.

They sat in silence. Maya expected him to get up and leave. To tell everyone who was looking for her that it was pointless to try and talk to her. That she was being stubborn and was pushing everyone away so let her come back when she wants to but he stayed.

He sat there and just kept looking at Maya and she felt a prick of irritation.

"You got anything else to say huckleberry or are you just gonna sit there?"

Lucas sighed.

"I saw your painting Maya, I've been watching you paint it."

Maya ran a hand through her hair. This wasn't what they were supposed to talk about. She didn't want anyone to know about her painting, it was just her way of coping. Whether she was going to destroy it or hide it hadn't been decided yet, Maya just knew no one could see it.

"Look, were talking about how you found me, not my art," she said. Maya had a feeling she didn't want to talk about that either. All of this was a mess and Maya just wanted it to be gone.

"I found you, it took me some time, but when I did I saw you painting. I watched you for two days so I know what your painting Maya. I decided that it was time to confront you about why you've been avoiding us and, the most important reason, we need to talk about what happened," Lucas told her. The how he found her was over, Lucas was just going to dive straight into the important part.

Maya shifted in her seat.

"Did you tell anyone where I've been?" she asked quietly.

Lucas shook his head.

"No, and I told them I wouldn't be able to hang out after school for a few days."

"But instead you've been coming in here to watch me paint?"

He looked down at the floor. Maybe Maya was seeing things but his cheeks were red.

"Yea."

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Why?" she asked.

He looked back up at her. His eyes had shined in the light, Maya always noticed that. How bright his eyes were.

"Why what?"

"Why didn't you tell anybody?"

Lucas looked at her.

"Because I knew you wouldn't want that. And I don't think it would have made any difference, it probably would have just made the situation worse."

Maya licked her lips. He knew she didn't like the be pushed, he knew she needed a minute and Maya was grateful for it. At the same time though, it could be a bad thing.

"Thank you for not saying anything, but you lying doesn't help the situation either. They might be suspicious. They're probably sure now that you did find me and are lying. This isn't far from the truth and it looks bad," Maya told him.

"Maybe but I had to get you to talk to me Maya-"

"You didn't want to talk when we were on our 'date'," she cut him off and used air quotes around the word date. Maya wasn't upset about that she was just starting to get defensive.

"I was scared Maya. You can't blame me for that, you were just as scared. I mean everything just changed all of sudden! We were all friends, then we were in Texas and you freaked out. That's when it started feeling weird. I just didn't know what to do," he started. Lucas seemed to be falling into his own feelings and Maya didn't know how to stop him.

"Then when I think some form of normal is coming back, Riley says that you like me and I just am at a loss. You, Maya Hart, have feelings for me? I didn't even know how to process that! And then we're alone and I just needed to know, Maya. I needed the answer, but you wouldn't say anything. I was getting so frustrated and you said you only made fun of me because it's easy. I was so mad when you said that. I still can't figure out why!"

Maya sat there. She was starting to think Lucas didn't go looking for Maya so she would talk to him but more that he needed to talk to her.

"I just needed you to be honest with me Maya. I needed to know if it was true. To know that you liked me, it made me feel," Lucas paused.

He looked up at Maya and held her gaze.

"It just made me feel happy."

She felt the wings of little butterflies in her stomach. Maya has been nervous before but this, this was a whole new feeling. Maya wanted to smile so big but at the same time she wanted to look down and hide her face. She was so young but Maya knew these were strong feelings she was getting.

"I just wanted to know, but I didn't like how you kept dodging the question. It made me feel so much at once. And then you were close to me and I couldn't stop myself. Next thing I knew I had you in my hands and your eyes were looking back at me and I just wanted to kiss you."

Maya gasped. He admitted it.

And better yet, he felt the same way she did about the almost kiss.

He was looking down now, scratching at his neck. "I was going to but I got scared. You didn't admit you liked me until after so I wasn't sure if I should have or not."

Neither of them spoke after that. Maya was still grasping the fact that Lucas did want to kiss her but at the same time she didn't know whether to feel guilty or happy.

"I wanted to kiss you too."

Lucas looked up at her.

Maya was blushing and fidgeting with her sleeve. "I mean you already know that I like you, might as well admit the other deep dark secret."

He chuckled.

Maya smiled.

"So then, what is this Maya?"

She sighed. There it was, the inevitable.

"I don't know Lucas. I stepped away because I didn't want Riley to be hurt and you were getting pulled in too many directions and it made me feel bad. If I stepped back again maybe it would all go back to normal and nobody would get hurt," she said to him.

Lucas scooted his chair closer to Maya and put his hands on her knees.

"Someone was always going to get hurt Maya, and now that all the cards are on the table it's never going to go back to the way it used to be," Lucas told her. He was staring deep into her eyes and Maya knew that his eyes were her favorite color.

She felt tears prick her eyes. "I don't think we've seen your cards yet."

Lucas chewed his bottom lip.

Maya watched him and she could see how tense he was. His hands were frozen on her lap but felt the twitch of his fingers when he stood up.

She looked up at him, watched how focused his gaze was on her and it made Maya's stomach twist into knots.

He gently pulled her up. Of course though Maya was a head shorter and had to move her neck to gaze back but it didn't bother her. As long as he was close to her she was OK.

Lucas ran a hand through her hair and May flashed back to the night at the campfire when he had her in his hands. She remembered how warm he felt. Maybe it was the fire, maybe it was her feelings, maybe she was over thinking but either way, she remembered feeling warm, Just like she did now, in this moment.

He was getting closer. His face leaned towards hers and Maya's heart beat a mile a minute. She knew was about to happen and even though it was going to change things some more, she decided to be selfish.

Maya felt his breath on her and she moved her gaze to his and saw he was looking at her too. They were so close but neither knew who should finish what was started. Maya was going to take the step forward but he seemed to be on the same page. So they met each other at just the right moment.

It was soft. It was nervous. It was right.

She'd never admit it of course, but when Maya thought of this moment, she never imagined it to be like this.

Lucas had one hand on her cheek and the other on her waist. Hers rested on his arms. She felt tiny being next to him but for the first time her height didn't bother her.

He had begun to pull away and Maya savored the moment. She held her eyes closed for a second longer to keep hold of them memory because if things got worse after this, she'd still have these feelings to look back on.

When she opened her eyes she saw Lucas smiling. She had never seen him look so happy before.

"Does that answer your question?" he asked.

Maya licked her lips and nodded.

At the moment she was speechless but Lucas didn't seem to mind. He was grinning like the huckleberry he was.

"Are you going to tell me about your painting now?" he asked.

Maya let her arms fall to her side and stepped towards the easel.

"I think you already know Ranger Rick," Maya smiled.

He grinned. "Campfire."

And he was right. Of course Maya would be painting that night, it was a very significant moment in her life whether all of this turned out good or bad. She had to paint it, because painting for her is like writing in a diary for other people. Maybe though you couldn't really tell with this piece because it was mostly scenery, it was still in it's early stages, but she knew what it meant and Lucas did too.

"It's amazing, as usual," Lucas said.

Maya beamed.

"What are you going to do with it?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I mean I was thinking about either hiding it or destroying it but I was going to decided that when it was completed."

Lucas looked at the painting again. A small smile played on his lips.

"Hang it up."

Maya looked up at him.

"No, I can't do that."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because it's a secret! No one knows about the campfire Lucas and honestly I kind don't want anyone to know. Plus it was just my way of coping," she said to him.

Lucas chuckled.

"Maya, I mean just leave it how it is now. If you were going to put people or us, don't. Leave it as scenery and let people think what they want. All it is is a campfire, outside, and at night. No one will know," he smiled.

"This is to beautiful to not show off."

Maya looked back at the easel. It was really pretty. A sky full of stars, trees and nature all around, and the bright flames of the fire. It needed a few touch ups here and there and Maya got an idea of how to incorporate people if she wanted too, but Lucas was right. It was too good to not show off.

She looked up at him and he was still looking at her painting. Maya wasn't much of a touchy person, except maybe with Riley but Maya felt herself lean into Lucas and put her arms around him. His solid figure tensed at first but realized what was going on. He turned so he could receive Maya's hug and then they were both in each others arms.

This was it. She made the choice the choice to be selfish, and he made his choice of choosing Maya. Now they may never admit it but neither of them believed there was a choice to be made.

All the cards are in play now, we'll see whose house falls first.


End file.
